About Dena M.
Dena M. Singer built her legal foundation at the University of Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1999. She went on to receive her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2002. Those years set the stage for a career that moves between courtroom work, teaching, and private practice.
She began her career as an associate at Much Shelist, P.C. in 2002. A year later she joined the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender, where she worked as a trial lawyer. That period in public defense shaped much of her approach to litigation and earned her hands-on experience in criminal cases at the trial level.
Over time Singer took on roles that mixed practice and instruction. In 2017 she became a partner at Bedi & Singer, LLP. The same year she also served as an adjunct professor at DePaul University College of Law, returning to the classroom to teach younger lawyers practical skills and courtroom strategy. Her career shows movement between advocacy in court and mentoring in academic settings.
Memberships and bar admissions broaden Singer’s reach. She is admitted in Illinois and Wisconsin and holds admission to several federal courts, including the Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois, the Northern District of Indiana, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Locally she has served in leadership on the Criminal Law Committee of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, where she was a former chair, and she is a member of the Northern District of Illinois Trial Bar and the State Bar of Wisconsin.
Her litigation work reflects a steady emphasis on criminal matters. Early work at the public defender’s office put her on the front lines of criminal defense. At the same time her private practice experience has included trial and appellate work in both state and federal courts. She balances courtroom advocacy with case preparation and appellate briefing.
Peers and students who have encountered Singer describe a practitioner who moves between roles without losing sight of the facts of a case or the pragmatic needs of clients. She has combined public defense, private litigation, and teaching in a single career path.
She currently works at Bedi & Singer, LLP and handles criminal defense and related litigation in state and federal courts.
